Contrasts in weather, teams and techniques was the order of the weekend for one of the premier events of the BREAM calendar, the Minn Kota Forster MegaBREAM. Staged on one of the more popular stops on the BREAM tour, and the opening event of the week long Forster Family Fishing Carnival, the Minn Kota presented event delivered action a plenty for competitors and spectators alike.
With over $30,000 worth of cash and prizes on offer anglers shared in the spoils, with a host of teams cashing in at the skins formatted event. Overall honours went to Team Tuncurry Auto Electric, 10/10, 7.25kg, but it was the ten cash winning teams that was the talk of the tournament.
Session 1
1st- $5000- Rusty Hooks, 5/5, 4.24kg
Utilising local knowledge Howard and Brown hit the racks early, targeting hard to reach and rarely fished locations only accessible on the top of tide. "We went for big fish from the start of the session, and hit shallow water spots inside and outside the racks (1 ½ to 4 feet deep) with a combination of Stiffy crankbaits (colour- evil minnow & BF) and Squidgy Wrigglers (colour- wasabi)", explained Howard.
With five in the well and the tide beginning to drop the pair changed venue hitting the weedbeds for the last two hours of the session.
Note: Targeted rarely fished big-fish locations on the top of the tide, forgoing quantity of fish for quality. The gamble paid off.
2nd- $2000- Pflueger, 5/5, 3.41kg
Russell Babekuhl and Andrew Homann followed a similar pattern to Howard and Brown, heading to the racks on day. Working the poles on the outside of the racks the pair used a 1/32 oz Nitro jighead rigged 2" Berkley Gulp Shrimps to score their fish, finding best success with the soon to be released banana prawn colour.
While the depth of water they fished ranged from 2 to 8 feet they keyed-in on one crucial factor for success, namely the presence of current.
"The adage of no run no fun definitely applied", explained Babekuhl. "The water was ultra clear though so you had to make sure you got the lure tight to the structure to get a response", he added.
The action was highly visual with the pair seeing just about every hook-up.
Note: Targeted current influenced poles on the outside of the racks.
3rd- $1500- Graham Barclay Marine, 5/5, 3.29kg
The popular local pairing of Grant Manusu and Shaun Chapman hit the racks early, scoring their bag in quick time before heading out to the weed flats near Pacific Palms and Green Point around midday.
Around the racks they opted for a soft plastic approach using Berkley Jiggin Grubs (colour-mouldy cheese) rigged on a combination of 1/32 oz Nitro jigheads and Squidgy Resin Heads. The approach was spot on with the pair picking up two legals and one upgrade in three successive casts
Out on the flats the team hardened-up, switching to a crankbait and using Ecogear CX40s and SX40s, the kicker fish in their bag (0.81kg) falling to the SX40 late in the session.
Note: Down sized their line class when out on the flats fishing 3lb fluorocarbon straight through.
Big Bream 1st- $500- Forster Beach Caravan Park, 1.2kg The standout fish on day one fell to a 3" Berkley Gulp Minnow (colour- mouldy cheese) worked over a two meter deep weed flat in the main lake. It anchored the bag for Healey and Scully delivering them fifth place and $1000.
Big Bream 2nd- $500- Central Coast 4x4 Wreckers/ Gray Building, 1.15kg Not to be over shadowed was Cooper and Georgeston who delivered another kilo plus fish to the waiting crowd. Captured on an open flat in the back of the lake the $500 bream fell to a Smith Camion SR in colour code 29.
Session 2
1st- $5000- Bilfinger/ Alpine Country, 5/5, 4.43kg
The Victorian team of Whittam and Domagala hit the flats on a windy day two, returning to a series of GPS marks they found during the prefish, and it was here that the pair used a crankbait approach.
With the wind at their back the pair made long wind assisted casts before retrieving their Lucky Craft Cra-Pea back across the 5-7 feet deep weeded flat.
"While we scored fish during the prefish and on day one it wasn't until the wind got up and we swapped to the Cra-Pea that we really started to nail good fish", explained Whittam.
The improvement was striking with the 238 and 176 colour coded crankbaits delivering the pair their bag by 9.30am.
Note: Used long soft rods (7' G.Loomis SR 842) to optimize the use of light line and leaders and maximise casting distance.
2nd- $2000- Tuncurry Auto Electrical, 5/5, 4.28kg
Peter McKinnon and Martin Richardson like many teams on day two hit the wind influenced open flats and with good result, scoring the second best bag for the day and for the weekend. Fishing the Green Point and Coomba Park areas the pair used a crankbait approach, slow rolling deep diving Jackall Chubbies (colour- suji shrimp) across the 1- 1 ½ metre deep flat.
"The deep Chubby runs a bit deeper than the water we were fishing so we high sticked our rods to make it swim shallower and keep it out of the weed", explained McKinnon .
Note: Used better actioned deep diving Chubbies rather than shallow running models, and modified retrieve to make it swim shallower depth.
3rd- $1500- Evinrude E-Tec, 5/5, 3.86kg
Mid Coast locals Adam Ward and John Startin fished the flats between Hells Gate and the middle of the lake using the day two dominant Jackall Chubby and Squidgy soft plastics to score their money winning fish.
The hardbody approach involved long down wind cast with a slow rolling retrieve back across the 3 to 10 feet deep weed punctuated flat.
"The flats really turned it on today", explained Ward, "with the bream active and keen to nail the lure in the windy conditions".
Note: Had their limit by 8.30 and boated 26-30 legals for the day.
Big Bream 1st- $500- Tuncurry Auto Electrical, 1.26kg The kicker fish in the bag for the day two runners-up nailed a Jackall Chubby within two cranks of the reel handle. Capture early in the session it set the tone for their day and set them on the path to their $2500 pay day.
Big Bream 2nd- $500- Bilfinger/ Alpine Country, 1.20kg The pick of the kilo plus fish in their bag, the 1.20kg giant was one of two XOS fish caught within a productive five minute window.
None cash winning teams reaped in the rewards as well with an assortment of Minn Kota electric motors and battery chargers randomly awarded at the Sunday afternoon presentation. One lucky member of the public also didn't go home empty handed with Ambarvale local Paul Piper winning the Minn Kota RT40 transom mount electric motor. As a recent angling convert and boat owner it was a well received and unexpected win.
Attention now returns to the Ford Ranger BREAM Series, with the tour heading to northern NSW for the Shimano Clarence River BREAM Challenge, May 30/ June 1. For event information and entry forms visit www.bream.com.au or phone ABT (07) 3268 7958.
SESSION ONE
| Place | Team | F | W | Payout | Big Bream |
| 1 | RUSTY HOOKS: Andrew Howard & Daniel Brown | 5 | 4.24 | $5,000 | $250 (1.01kg) |
| 2 | PFLUEGER: Andrew Homann & Russell Babekuhl | 5 | 3.41 | $2,000 | |
| 3 | GRAHAM BARCLAY MARINE: Grant Manusu & Shaun Chapman | 5 | 3.29 | $1,500 | |
| 4 | GAMAKATSU: Michael Starkey & Dean Silvester | 5 | 3.2 | $1,250 | $250 (1.01kg) |
| 5 | FORSTER BEACH CARAVAN PARK: Mark Healey & Karen Scully | 5 | 3.03 | $1,000 | $500 (1.20kg) |
| 6 | LOGAN RIVER MARINE: Corey Tarr & Jay Morgan | 5 | 3.02 | ||
| 7 | BOX FISH CASUAL CUISINE: Chris Deland & Michael Simpson | 5 | 2.99 | ||
| 8 | TT LURES: Darren Borg & Kristoffer Hickson | 5 | 2.98 | ||
| 9 | TUNCURRY AUTO ELECTRICIANS: Peter McKinnon & Martin Richardson | 5 | 2.97 | ||
| 10 | BERKLEY: Mark Mangold & Scott Towner | 5 | 2.94 | ||
| 11 | EVINRUDE E-TEC/ SQUIDGY PRO RANGE: Adam Ward & John Startin | 5 | 2.89 | ||
| 12 | FISHING MONTHLY: Steve Morgan & Travis Davies | 5 | 2.82 | ||
| 13 | STIFFY LURES/MINN KOTA: Chris Wright & Kaj Busch | 5 | 2.69 | ||
| 14 | CENTRAL COAST 4X4 WRECKERS/GRAY BUILDING: Ricky Cooper & Darren Georgeston | 4 | 2.54 | $500 (1.15kg) | |
| 15 | BILFINGER/ALPINE COUNTRY: Cameron Whittam & Damien Domagala | 5 | 2.34 | ||
| 16 | MONGREL: Wayne Reed & Adrian Neoh | 5 | 2.3 | ||
| 17 | HIGHLAND SCOTCH WHISKEY AND COLA: Alan Loftus & Ross Cannizzaro | 5 | 2.22 | ||
| 18 | STESSCO/FRANKLIN PLUMBING: Craig Simmons & Graham Franklin | 5 | 2.13 | ||
| 19 | SHIMANO: Mark Dunphy & Chris Cleaver | 4 | 2.1 | ||
| 20 | PFLUEGER/ATF: Gary Brown & Brian Rhodin | 4 | 1.89 | ||
| 21 | JUST BREAMIN: Rodney Thorpe & Anthony Thorpe | 4 | 1.57 | ||
| 22 | DROP LIZARD MEDIA: David Seaman & Brian Everingham | 2 | 1.5 | ||
| 23 | SKEETER/EVINRUDE E-TEC: Dean Hammond & Josh Batterson | 4 | 1.49 | ||
| 24 | MINN KOTA: Mick Mee & Ian Outzen | 4 | 1.42 | ||
| 25 | TR LIVESTOCK TRANSPORT: Troy Urquhart & Dave Trinder | 3 | 1.22 | ||
| 26 | MANNING VALLEY TACKLE: Peter Rich & Robert Drake | 2 | 1.11 | ||
| 26 | DUTCH HARBOUR: Bic Fox & Thuan Huynh | 2 | 1.11 | ||
| 28 | GOULBURN TEMPORARY FENCING: Jonathon Fitzgibbon & Bradley Writer | 2 | 0.77 | ||
| 29 | BREAM BANDITS: Greg Duffield & Brenden Whyte | 1 | 0.5 | ||
| 30 | BELLEVUE HOTEL/VB MIDSTRENGTH: Murray Allport & Wayne Burley | 1 | 0.48 | ||
| 31 | ON EDGE: Karen Fontaine & David Williamson | 1 | 0.4 |
SESSION TWO
| Place | Team | F | W | Payout | BB |
| 1 | BILFINGER/ALPINE COUNTRY: Cameron Whittam & Damien Domagala | 5 | 4.43 | $5,000 | $500 (1.20kg) |
| 2 | TUNCURRY AUTO ELECTRICIANS: Peter McKinnon & Martin Richardson | 5 | 4.28 | $2,000 | $500 (1.26kg) |
| 3 | EVINRUDE E-TEC/ SQUIDGY PRO RANGE: Adam Ward & John Startin | 5 | 3.86 | $1,500 | $500 (1.18kg) |
| 4 | GRAHAM BARCLAY MARINE: Grant Manusu & Shaun Chapman | 5 | 3.56 | $1,250 | |
| 5 | SHIMANO: Mark Dunphy & Chris Cleaver | 5 | 3.51 | $1,000 | |
| 6 | SKEETER/EVINRUDE E-TEC: Dean Hammond & Josh Batterson | 5 | 3.34 | ||
| 7 | STIFFY LURES/MINN KOTA: Chris Wright & Kaj Busch | 5 | 3.11 | ||
| 8 | STESSCO/FRANKLIN PLUMBING: Craig Simmons & Graham Franklin | 5 | 3.1 | ||
| 9 | PFLUEGER: Andrew Homann & Russell Babekuhl | 5 | 3.06 | ||
| 10 | TT LURES: Darren Borg & Kristoffer Hickson | 5 | 2.92 | ||
| 11 | BERKLEY: Mark Mangold & Scott Towner | 5 | 2.85 | ||
| 12 | RUSTY HOOKS: Andrew Howard & Daniel Brown | 5 | 2.8 | ||
| 13 | FORSTER BEACH CARAVAN PARK: Mark Healey & Karen Scully | 5 | 2.78 | ||
| 14 | FISHING MONTHLY: Steve Morgan & Travis Davies | 5 | 2.47 | ||
| 15 | CENTRAL COAST 4X4 WRECKERS/GRAY BUILDING: Ricky Cooper & Darren Georgeston | 5 | 2.45 | ||
| 16 | BREAM BANDITS: Greg Duffield & Brenden Whyte | 5 | 2.43 | ||
| 17 | BOX FISH CASUAL CUISINE: Chris Deland & Michael Simpson | 5 | 2.23 | ||
| 17 | HIGHLAND SCOTCH WHISKEY AND COLA: Alan Loftus & Ross Cannizzaro | 5 | 2.23 | ||
| 19 | DROP LIZARD MEDIA: David Seaman & Brian Everingham | 5 | 2.19 | ||
| 20 | JUST BREAMIN: Rodney Thorpe & Anthony Thorpe | 3 | 2.11 | ||
| 21 | DUTCH HARBOUR: Bic Fox & Thuan Huynh | 3 | 1.94 | ||
| 22 | GOULBURN TEMPORARY FENCING: Jonathon Fitzgibbon & Bradley Writer | 5 | 1.91 | ||
| 23 | GAMAKATSU: Michael Starkey & Dean Silvester | 4 | 1.7 | ||
| 24 | MONGREL: Wayne Reed & Adrian Neoh | 4 | 1.62 | ||
| 25 | ON EDGE: Karen Fontaine & David Williamson | 3 | 1.55 | ||
| 26 | BELLEVUE HOTEL/VB MIDSTRENGTH: Murray Allport & Wayne Burley | 3 | 1.2 | ||
| 27 | LOGAN RIVER MARINE: Corey Tarr & Jay Morgan | 2 | 1.19 | ||
| 28 | PFLUEGER/ATF: Gary Brown & Brian Rhodin | 2 | 0.85 | ||
| 29 | MINN KOTA: Mick Mee & Ian Outzen | 2 | 0.72 | ||
| 30 | TR LIVESTOCK TRANSPORT: Troy Urquhart & Dave Trinder | 1 | 0.42 | ||
| 31 | MANNING VALLEY TACKLE: Peter Rich & Robert Drake | 0 |
OVERALL RESULTS
| Place | Team | F1 | W1 | F2 | W2 | TF | TW |
| 1 | TUNCURRY AUTO ELECTRICIANS: Peter McKinnon & Martin Richardson | 5 | 2.97 | 5 | 4.28 | 10 | 7.25 |
| 2 | RUSTY HOOKS: Andrew Howard & Daniel Brown | 5 | 4.24 | 5 | 2.8 | 10 | 7.04 |
| 3 | GRAHAM BARCLAY MARINE: Grant Manusu & Shaun Chapman | 5 | 3.29 | 5 | 3.56 | 10 | 6.85 |
| 4 | BILFINGER/ALPINE COUNTRY: Cameron Whittam & Damien Domagala | 5 | 2.34 | 5 | 4.43 | 10 | 6.77 |
| 5 | EVINRUDE E-TEC/ SQUIDGY PRO RANGE: Adam Ward & John Startin | 5 | 2.89 | 5 | 3.86 | 10 | 6.75 |
| 6 | PFLUEGER: Andrew Homann & Russell Babekuhl | 5 | 3.41 | 5 | 3.06 | 10 | 6.47 |
| 7 | TT LURES: Darren Borg & Kristoffer Hickson | 5 | 2.98 | 5 | 2.92 | 10 | 5.9 |
| 8 | FORSTER BEACH CARAVAN PARK: Mark Healey & Karen Scully | 5 | 3.03 | 5 | 2.78 | 10 | 5.81 |
| 9 | STIFFY LURES/MINN KOTA: Chris Wright & Kaj Busch | 5 | 2.69 | 5 | 3.11 | 10 | 5.8 |
| 10 | BERKLEY: Mark Mangold & Scott Towner | 5 | 2.94 | 5 | 2.85 | 10 | 5.79 |
| 11 | SHIMANO: Mark Dunphy & Chris Cleaver | 4 | 2.1 | 5 | 3.51 | 9 | 5.61 |
| 12 | FISHING MONTHLY: Steve Morgan & Travis Davies | 5 | 2.82 | 5 | 2.47 | 10 | 5.29 |
| 13 | STESSCO/FRANKLIN PLUMBING: Craig Simmons & Graham Franklin | 5 | 2.13 | 5 | 3.1 | 10 | 5.23 |
| 14 | BOX FISH CASUAL CUISINE: Chris Deland & Michael Simpson | 5 | 2.99 | 5 | 2.23 | 10 | 5.22 |
| 15 | CENTRAL COAST 4X4 WRECKERS/GRAY BUILDING: Ricky Cooper & Darren Georgeston | 4 | 2.54 | 5 | 2.45 | 9 | 4.99 |
| 16 | GAMAKATSU: Michael Starkey & Dean Silvester | 5 | 3.2 | 4 | 1.7 | 9 | 4.9 |
| 17 | SKEETER/EVINRUDE E-TEC: Dean Hammond & Josh Batterson | 4 | 1.49 | 5 | 3.34 | 9 | 4.83 |
| 18 | HIGHLAND SCOTCH WHISKEY AND COLA: Alan Loftus & Ross Cannizzaro | 5 | 2.22 | 5 | 2.23 | 10 | 4.45 |
| 19 | LOGAN RIVER MARINE: Corey Tarr & Jay Morgan | 5 | 3.02 | 2 | 1.19 | 7 | 4.21 |
| 20 | MONGREL: Wayne Reed & Adrian Neoh | 5 | 2.3 | 4 | 1.62 | 9 | 3.92 |
| 21 | DROP LIZARD MEDIA: David Seaman & Brian Everingham | 2 | 1.5 | 5 | 2.19 | 7 | 3.69 |
| 22 | JUST BREAMIN: Rodney Thorpe & Anthony Thorpe | 4 | 1.57 | 3 | 2.11 | 7 | 3.68 |
| 23 | DUTCH HARBOUR: Bic Fox & Thuan Huynh | 2 | 1.11 | 3 | 1.94 | 5 | 3.05 |
| 24 | BREAM BANDITS: Greg Duffield & Brenden Whyte | 1 | 0.5 | 5 | 2.43 | 6 | 2.93 |
| 25 | PFLUEGER/ATF: Gary Brown & Brian Rhodin | 4 | 1.89 | 2 | 0.85 | 6 | 2.74 |
| 26 | GOULBURN TEMPORARY FENCING: Jonathon Fitzgibbon & Bradley Writer | 2 | 0.77 | 5 | 1.91 | 7 | 2.68 |
| 27 | MINN KOTA: Mick Mee & Ian Outzen | 4 | 1.42 | 2 | 0.72 | 6 | 2.14 |
| 28 | ON EDGE: Karen Fontaine & David Williamson | 1 | 0.4 | 3 | 1.55 | 4 | 1.95 |
| 29 | BELLEVUE HOTEL/VB MIDSTRENGTH: Murray Allport & Wayne Burley | 1 | 0.48 | 3 | 1.2 | 4 | 1.68 |
| 30 | TR LIVESTOCK TRANSPORT: Troy Urquhart & Dave Trinder | 3 | 1.22 | 1 | 0.42 | 4 | 1.64 |
| 31 | MANNING VALLEY TACKLE: Peter Rich & Robert Drake | 2 | 1.11 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1.11 |
